Karren Dornbirn – cable car & panorama restaurant

The Karren is a wooded knoll on the northern shoulder of the Staufen, 971 m high (976 m on the signposts), directly above Dornbirn. The Karren cable car has run up from the Gütle since 1956 and was rebuilt in 1996 together with the panorama restaurant by architect Leopold Kaufmann: two cabins for 35 people each climb 512 m in about four minutes. At the top, the 'Karren-Kante', opened in 2016, is worth a look – a walkway jutting 12 m out over the cliff edge with a glass balustrade, steel grating underfoot and, in front of you, the Rhine valley, Lake Constance and the Swiss mountains as far as the Säntis. The restaurant serves during the same hours as the cable car, and because the cable car runs until 11 pm from Monday to Saturday, the Karren is a popular spot for sunset and dinner above the city lights.

If you want to walk, descend in a good hour via the Staufensee to the Gütle and add on the Rappenloch gorge, or continue to the Staufenspitze (1,465 m). The cable car runs all year every quarter hour, Mon–Sat 9 am–11 pm, Sun 9 am–9 pm, with a maintenance closure from 15 to 25 November 2026; a return ticket costs €17.60 for adults and €8.80 for children, and from 6 pm an evening fare of €14.80 applies (as of 2026). Valley station and restaurant are step-free, so pushchairs are no problem. From our house it is 68 km / just under 1 hour; by train to Dornbirn and bus 207 or 177 to the valley station in the Gütle, where around 180 parking spaces are available.

Last updated: 17 Sep 2026